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2016 | Book

Introduction and Overview Read chapter Read first chapter

The Internationalization of Higher Education and Business Schools

A Critical Review

Author: Gabriel Hawawini

Publisher: Springer Singapore

Book Series : SpringerBriefs in Business

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

This book provides a critical review of the internationalization process among higher education institutions (HEIs), taking a closer look at the case of business schools. The first part offers a novel definition of this phenomenon and examines the forces that drive international initiatives. It then examines and explains the “internationalization paradox”: the observation that despite evidence that many international initiatives fail to deliver what they promise, for the heads of HEIs they nevertheless remain at the top of the agenda. In turn, the second part of the book develops a unifying framework that identifies alternative models of internationalization and explains how they relate to one another. Based on this framework, the book presents a model of the truly global HEI, whose mission is to learn from the world rather than teach the world what it knows.
The book’s central thesis is that it is unlikely that HEIs will be able to transform themselves into truly global HEIs because of historical and organizational barriers rather than a shortage of resources or a lack of visionary leadership. The book concludes that most HEIs should refrain from claiming that their aim is to become global institutions, and should instead focus on the successful implementation of an import-export model of internationalization that calls for initiatives such as the internationalization of the curriculum, the creation of student and faculty exchange programs, and the participation in international academic and research partnerships. Any attempt to transform themselves into truly global institutions is unlikely to succeed and may distract them from their fundamental mission: to educate their home-based students and help them become effective global citizens.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview
Abstract
In this chapter, I provide a brief overview of the book’s content. The book’s objective is to present a critical examination of the internationalization process of higher education institutions with a closer look at the case of business schools.
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 2. What Is Internationalization?
Abstract
I review the standard definition of internationalization and show that it is restrictive because it emphasizes the inward-looking aspects of the process, ignoring its outward-looking dimensions. I argue that the outward-looking dimensions are essential and provide an alternative definition that captures them. I then examine the international rankings of universities and business schools to illustrate the limitation of the standard inward-looking definition and conclude by calling for the development of outward-looking indicators and the establishment of a new international ranking methodology. Based on the evidence from current rankings, I state two principles: ‘The De Novo Internationalization Principle’ according to which it is easier to build a truly global institution from scratch than transforming an existing institution into a global one, and ‘The Top-Down Internationalization Principle’ according to which internationalization is more likely to succeed if it is an institution-wide process rather than a collection of uncoordinated initiatives at the level of courses and programs.
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 3. Internationalization: Motives
Abstract
I classify the reasons that drive higher education institutions to internationalize into two nonoverlapping categories: academic motives and economic motives. The former include a desire to broaden the institution’s educational mission to cover local as well as foreign students, a need to remain relevant in a globalizing world, and the wish to attract the best faculty and students worldwide. Economic motives include a desire to grow revenues, reduce income volatility, and diversify the institution’s sources of cash-generating activities. According to surveys that ask institutions why they internationalize, academic motives dominate. To conclude, I argue that the standard academic motives to internationalize do not provide a complete rationale for a nonprofit institution to look beyond its local boundaries. The ultimate benefit of internationalization is to learn from the world, not just teach the world what the institution already knows in order to fulfill its academic mission and provide some international exposure to its students and faculty.
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 4. Internationalization: Obstacles
Abstract
I review the major obstacles faced by higher education institutions as they attempt to internationalize. As in the case of motives reviewed in the previous chapter, these obstacles are classified either as academic or economic. The former include the ambivalence on the part of the faculty for internationalization initiatives, the fear that the institution’s reputation might be diluted, and obstacles related to organizational inertia and government regulation of the higher education sector. Economic obstacles include the cost and the risks associated with international initiatives and the lower financial support from international alumni. I conclude with an examination of the internationalization paradox: if implementing successfully an internationalization strategy is one of the most challenging academic and economic initiatives an institution can embark on, why is it also one of the most frequent initiatives that heads of institutions put on their agenda?
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 5. International Reach
Abstract
I examine what I call the architecture of internationalization which consists of the three components that make up and sustain an institution’s internationalization process. These are: (1) the identification of the academic unit that will be internationalized (is it a course, a program, a center, a school or the entire institution?); (2) the particular elements within the unit that will be internationalized (is it the curriculum, the student body, the faculty, the research activity, the governance structure or a combination of these?); and (3) the medium that will be employed to implement the internationalization process (will it be an import model, an export model, academic joint-ventures, partnerships and alliances or campuses abroad?).
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 6. International Richness
Abstract
I define an institution’s international richness according to the international diversity of the student body and the variety of international faculty it attracts onto its campus. A look at the evidence indicates that the proportion of international students and faculty rarely exceeds 20 % for most institutions around the world. I then argue that the proportion of international students in and of itself is a poor indicator of international richness if a single nationality dominates the student body. I explore the phenomenon of culture dominance and show how it creates ‘assimilation traps,’ that is, a tendency of foreign students to try to assimilate with the culture of the dominant nationality on campus, a phenomenon that greatly reduces the cultural learning these foreign students could have transmitted to the domestic students.
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 7. The Internationalization Matrix: Alternative Types of Higher Education Institutions
Abstract
By combining an institution’s international reach with its international richness we can construct an internationalization matrix that identifies seven distinct types of higher education institutions. I examine and compare the rationale and characteristics of each type of institution and the conditions they must fulfill to be sustainable.
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 8. The Metanational Higher Education Institution
Abstract
I sketch out the contours of the metanational higher education institution and describe its organizational structure. The metanational institution consists of an open and fluid network of campuses spanning the world, free from a home-campus bias and driven by a desire to learn from the world to create new knowledge. It is an interconnected and integrated global knowledge and learning network made up of complementary campuses that operate in a symbiotic mode.
Gabriel Hawawini
Chapter 9. Summary of Major Points and Recommendations
Abstract
In this concluding chapter, I summarize the book’s major findings and recommendations.
Gabriel Hawawini
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
The Internationalization of Higher Education and Business Schools
Author
Gabriel Hawawini
Copyright Year
2016
Publisher
Springer Singapore
Electronic ISBN
978-981-10-1757-5
Print ISBN
978-981-10-1755-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1757-5